Battle of Atlanta

The Battle of Atlanta (22 July 1864) was an American Civil War battle that occurred when William T. Sherman's 34,863-strong Union army group assaulted and defeated the 40,438-strong Confederate Army of Tennessee under John Bell Hood at Atlanta, Georgia. Following Hood's failed attack at Peachtree Creek, the Union armies closed in on Atlanta, and Confederate sappers installed artillery emplacements, palisades, and chevaux de frise to hold back the Union advance. The initial Confederate attack repulsed the Union left flank, and General James B. McPherson was shot while riding to the frontlines to inspect his men. The Union forces suffered several setbacks, including a rout at Decatur, but Confederate general Joseph Wheeler withdrew from Decatur, figuring that he was in no position to defend the town. Hood then planned to attack the federals from both the east and west, but the federals successfully held Bald Hill against Hood's assaults, even after ferocious hand-to-hand combat. The battle was a tactical Union victory, as the Union army had inflicted heavy losses on the battered Confederate defenders of Atlanta, but the Union army had also suffered heavy losses, lost General McPherson, and was forced to lay siege to the city. On 2 September 1864, Atlanta surrendered to the Union after the Union army ravaged the countryside and the railroads around the city, and the city (with the exception of its hospitals and churches) was completely burned to the ground by Sherman's army.